


nothing better than a warm cup of tea

by leighbot



Category: Clean Bandit (Band), Years & Years (Band)
Genre: Canon Related, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Sickfic, don't let the tags fool you, this is really just 3k of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 02:44:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4943650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leighbot/pseuds/leighbot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>As if he’s conjured her out of thin air with just his thoughts, Grace’s immediately climbing into the seat next to him, mirroring his pose. “Are you thinking what I’m pretty sure you’re thinking?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“If it’s flying out to Texas for barely twenty-four hours to bring my boys lemsip and make them ginger tea and maybe cuddle with them a bit while we watch their favorite movies then yes: that’s what I’m thinking. What do you think about what I’m thinking?”</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Or, Neil's boys are sick after their last US shows and he takes advantage of an off day in Clean Bandit's own tour to take care of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	nothing better than a warm cup of tea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [treez_r_green](https://archiveofourown.org/users/treez_r_green/gifts).



> For treez_r_green, because she was feeling poorly. The idea is hers, the inspiration is her: I really barely did anything here.
> 
> Terribly self-indulgent, most likely out of character across the board. First Clean Years fic and I'm sure I've got most of it wrong. Unbeta'd, unedited and unbritpicked. (But possibly very cute, so maybe it's worth a read.)
> 
> This also might be the first Neil/Olly/Emre fic on AO3. Hopefully I've just missed another one(s). 'Nemo' should be written and loved by all.

It isn't a lie when he gives interviews and talks about how much he loves the road and the shows they play. Whether Clean Bandit's on a tour or festival circuit, he feeds off of the adrenaline the crowd releases, soaking it in and getting through the few days after on a high until the next show.

Neil _loves_ touring. It's just that- he loves his boys, too.

After the circumstances occurred that had brought Emre into their relationship, it's gotten selflessly easier to leave Olly, as he knows he's leaving him with someone to take care of him and someone whom he can take care of. But it's also gotten selfishly hard in the sense that his heart now misses _two_ people when he's gone.

Emre hadn't been in Neil's plan for the future, from the beginning, but he's very much in it now, an essential element that Neil doesn't know how he'd ever gone without. His sharp wit and self-demeaning attitude hide the softest, gentlest boy he's ever known- barring Olly, of course- and Neil looks forward to carving out a special dynamic between him and Emre like the one he shares with Olly or the one that has years of foundation between Emre and Olly.

Emre and Olly are new to poly relationships, but Neil's played around with one before when it was a lot less meaningful and mostly just about sex. They've all agreed on certain ground rules, the number one rule being communication. All issues are raised at the first available moment and dealt with quickly.

So far, the 'issues' have included: Emre teasing Stewie and Olly asking Neil to make him stop; Emre wanting to send Neil nudes and having Olly and Neil both out-vote him after the tabloid scandal, unwilling to take the risk; and Neil's penchant for near-abject misery at being away from the two of them causing them to invoke a 'once every twenty-four hour' check-in rule when on the road.

When he doesn't hear from them for a full day and a half, then, he begins to get nervous to the point where even Grace's practicality can't talk him out of his worry.

"It's not even like that," he protests for the hundredth time when she calls him possessive.

"I see the hickeys you leave on those boys," she teases, smirking as she cuddles into Elisabeth's side in the bus' back lounge, somewhere in California. "You worried they might've faded away?"

"Ha, bloody ha," he grunts, digging his feet between the sofa cushions and checking his phone again.

"Oh, just ring Mikey if you're so worried they've run off together and left you all on your lonesome."

"They'd never," Elisabeth chastises her gently, her hand dark against Grace's too-pale knee. "Neil's boys love him to the moon and back."

"Not as much as he loves them," Grace says, in a way that Neil isn't sure is meant to be reproachful or not despite knowing Grace like the back of his own hands most days.

"I'm gonna go-" he starts, palming his phone and rising from his seat, padding barefoot between the bunks until he's in the little kitchen area. He slides into the booth seating there, bringing up Mikey's contact info.

It rings only a couple times until it connects, Mikey's voice sounding much clearer from America's Deep South than it is when they call cross-Atlantic.

"Hey Mikey," he says, cheeks warm still from Grace's teasing and just knowing how inane he's acting.

"Neil, everything okay? Not that I don't like hearing from you, of course."

"Yeah, no, I get it," Neil laughs quickly. "Um, have you got eyes on Emre and Olly? They haven't answered their phones in a while and I've just been a bit concerned."

"I bloody _told_ those idiots to call you," Mikey says.

Neil hears movement on the other end, growing a bit nervous until the sleep-soft sound of Emre's voice is whispering a 'hello' over the line.

"Babe," Neil says, feeling a little silly in his relief. "Hey, hadn't heard from you."

"Shit, sorry," Emre says, sounding a bit louder but extremely hoarse. Neil hears him clear his throat. "Olly and me've come down with a bit of a bug. Been sleeping mostly."

“Oh, baby, sorry to hear that.”

Emre must not be feeling too poorly, because Neil hears him mutter _bloody older than you_ and Neil wants to respond like he normally would, wants to tease him and remind him that he’ll _always_ be Neil’s baby, no matter their age, but then Emre’s coughing into the phone and he pulls a face instead.

“You sound terrible,” Neil says. “How’s the other one?”

“He’s here, just sleeping.”

His voice sounds further away but Neil can still hear Olly’s name on his lips as he tries to wake him. A second later, he chuckles and speaks back into the receiver. “Don’t think it’s gonna work,” Emre admits, coughing again after his quick giggle fit.

“You sound awful, get off the phone.”

“You called me,” Emre says, too poorly to put any real bite behind it.

“I know, I know. Is Mikey around?”

“Yeah, he’s here.”

“Okay, love. Give him his phone and go back to sleep. Love you.”

“Love you. Bye.”

“Bye.”

When Mikey’s back on the line, he’s smart enough to mutter a quick ‘hold on’ before Neil hears the sound of him walking away again. Before Neil can even ask, Mikey’s rattling off the address and hotel room.

“Thanks, Mikey, We’ve got a show tonight but your next one isn’t until day after tomorrow, right?”

“I’ll let the front desk know to leave a key out for you,” he says in confirmation.

“Thank you,” he repeats, disconnecting the call and setting his mobile on the table in front of him. He draws his legs up, chin on his knees in the narrow booth seat before picking up his phone again and searching for flights. There’s one that leaves three hours after the show. It’ll be a narrow escape but he thinks he can do it, especially if he recruits Grace’s help.

As if he’s conjured her out of thin air with just his thoughts, Grace’s immediately climbing into the seat next to him, mirroring his pose. “Are you thinking what I’m pretty sure you’re thinking?”

“If it’s flying out to Texas for barely twenty-four hours to bring my boys lemsip and make them ginger tea and maybe cuddle with them a bit while we watch their favorite movies then yes: that’s what I’m thinking. What do you think about what I’m thinking?”

“I think,” Grace says carefully, the way she’s taken to speaking to him since he’d told her that he and Olly had invited Emre into their relationship, “that you’re an adult and you can do whatever you like. And that you’re soft when it comes to your boyfriends, anyway.”

Neil would protest the last bit, but it’s entirely true and nothing he’s ashamed of.

“Plus, if they’re sick then you should go be with them. What’s the point of being filthy rich and super successful if you can’t do some dumb stuff with your money?”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, and Jack’ll come with me to the interview tomorrow, don’t worry about that. But if you bring back their cold I might have to do a murder.”

Neil laughs and scoots her out of the booth so he can go pack. T minus seven hours until he’s on a flight to his boys.

~*~

Bleary-eyed from a flight too short for a nap but too long for his patience, Neil shows up at the hotel somewhere around four in the morning with a duffel over his shoulder and a shopping bag in his hand. The night staff at the desk either recognize him or don’t value security very well, because all he needs to give is his name and they’re handing over the keycard with a room number on top.

He climbs the stairs- too unsettled by the overcrowded airplane to deal with an elevator right now- and counts the doors until he’s outside the correct one.

The next door down opens, and Mikey pops his head out. “About time,” he says, grin evident through his beard.

“I got here quick as I could,” Neil assures, slipping his card into the slot. He pushes into the room once it blinks red, nodding a goodbye of sorts to Mikey before he’s locking the door behind him and turning to take in the room at large. He sees the two lumps on the bed and smiles, the stress of the previous twenty-four hours draining away completely.

He sets out what he’s purchased, scoffing at the coffee maker in the small kitchenette when he notes the lack of a kettle. He’s come prepared, though, and he gets two mugs out while the water boils. He grates fresh ginger and puts it in a cheese cloth and then into one mug, opening a packet of lemsip and pouring it into the other. He fills both mugs with hot water when it’s ready, letting them sit a moment while he puts orange juice and soup in the room’s mini fridge for later.

When he’s finished letting the ginger sit, he scoops out the faux-tea bag and stirs in a bit of sugar before grabbing one mug in each hand and finally making his way to the bed. He sets them on the nightstand next to one lump, tugging back the duvet and exposing Olly’s mess of platinum curls. His heart melts when he tugs a bit further and sees Emre tucked into his side, mouth open against Olly’s bare chest. The sound of their breathing is wet and ragged still, and he doesn’t want to wake them but he desperately wants to take care of them for a bit.

As he’s debating with himself, Emre starts to come to. He nuzzles his nose into Olly’s chest briefly, pressing a kiss to his bare skin before he opens his eyes. He blinks sleepily for a moment and then sees Neil.

“Knew you’d come,” he mumbles, smiling up at him.

“Good God, you’re lovely,” Neil says, leaning down.

Emre meets him halfway, still smiling as Neil cups his jaw and brushes their mouths together. Almost immediately, though, Emre pulls back and begins coughing. He brings his fist up to his mouth, trying to cover the sound but Olly’s already stirring. Knowing he’ll take a day and a half to wake up, Neil hands him his glasses and then the mug with the lemsip.

“Thank you,” Emre says. He shifts so his back’s against the pillows.

“Shall we wake sleeping beauty?” Neil teases, his hand already running through Olly’s short curls.

He watches Olly’s lips pucker, pouting a bit until he wakes up for real. His blue eyes are dark in the low light but his confused smile is the most gorgeous thing Neil’s ever seen. “Hi?” Olly says, voice lilting at the end in a question. “You’re here.”

“Amazing powers of observation,” Emre says, smile betraying his sarcasm.

“Hello, kitten,” Neil says, leaning down and giving Olly a kiss of his own before he pulls back and pushes the mug of ginger tea into his hands.

“You’re my favorite,” Olly breathes, taking a deep drink before he pulls back and giggles at the scoff Emre makes. “You’re my favorite, too,” Olly teases.

“Room for me?” Neil asks, loving when they immediately shift apart, making space in-between them.

He tugs off his jumper, letting it fall to the floor and leaving him in his vest and joggers. He climbs over Olly’s knees and settles in the space, grinning when they curl against him on either side.

“You’ve both got to finish your teas before you fall back asleep,” he warns.

“Not sleepy,” Olly protests around a yawn.

Neil laughs. “I can tell.”

“Not gonna waste the time we have with you by sleeping,” Emre clarifies for him.

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” he promises, taking the nearly-finished mug from Olly’s hand and passing it to Emre, who pulls away long enough to put it and his own on the other nightstand before he’s setting down his glasses again and pushing back into Neil’s space. Olly’s now empty hand is tracing lazy circles on Neil’s hip, and he tangles his fingers with Emre’s when the other lad reaches out as well. “Go to sleep.”

“No,” Olly protests.

“Want to stay awake with you,” Emre says, looking up at Neil. “Want to give you orgasms.”

That startles a laugh out of him, Olly giggling sleepily as well.

“As much as I love orgasms, especially from my boys,” Neil starts, “I’d much rather have you lot sleep it off a bit and let me feed you orange juice and vegetable soup when you wake up.”

“Hopefully not at the same time,” Olly says, pulling a face.

Neil shifts him a bit, ducking to kiss his full bottom lip once more before he turns and does the same to Emre, enjoying the way their joined hands press against his skin. Olly slides down his side a bit, reaching his free hand up to Neil’s shoulder and tugging him until he and Emre are both horizontal with him.

“Gonna smush you,” Emre protests when Neil pulls him onto his chest.

“Yeah, I’m really concerned with that,” Neil teases.

“Just ‘cause you’re fit and buff,” Emre says, letting the sentence trail off as he mirrors the position he’d been in around Olly when Neil had come in.

He stays quiet for a bit, keeping his eyes on Emre’s face until the near-permanent pinch of his eyebrows smooths out in sleep. He turns to check Olly’s progress, not surprised when he finds him still awake and looking at Emre as well. The soft look on his face would normally have worried Neil, if it was directed at anyone else. Olly tilts his head back on Neil’s shoulder, eyes crossing a bit until he pulls away slightly. The soft look’s replaced with something else, something specific to Neil, and he wants to lean in for another kiss but he doesn’t want to disturb Emre and Olly’s sniffling a bit anyway, attractive even with his red nose but more in need of sleep than a snog.

“I love you,” Olly says, voice low.

The words have been passed between the two of them for almost a year, and with Emre for decidedly less time, but they’ve yet to lose the startling weight of their meaning.

“I love you- love both of you- so very much more than I ever would have expected to.”

“No boyfriend’s ever taken care of me when I’m sick before. Besides Emre the past few days, f’course.”

It’s little comments like that that would have previously made Neil want to track down all of Olly’s shitty ex’s. He doesn’t mind it so much anymore, as it’s just further motivation for him and Emre to spoil him and erase all of his bad memories.

“Go to sleep,” Neil repeats.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m gonna.”

It’s another moment before he does, though. He tucks himself under the duvet a bit more, pulling away from Neil but leaving his hand low on his stomach so he can keep contact with both of them still. Neil tucks his free arm up and under his head, knowing Olly’ll shift back in his sleep and wanting to leave a space for him to fit into. Emre will pull away in his sleep, so he leaves his other arm under Emre’s head, knowing he’ll shift away before the limb falls asleep.

He drifts off, frowning a bit still when he hears one of them cough a bit before settling again. He’ll make sure he’s up before them and get more tea going before he tries to get them to eat some soup. Olly will cooperate, he knows, but Emre likes to fight a bit when Neil tries to take care of him, likes to be stubborn. He’ll probably act too posh for it, but Neil knows that Olly will be on his side and they’ll convince Emre to have some without too much trouble.

~*~

In the morning, Emre fights him as expected but gives in when Olly asks him sweetly to share his. Neil rolls his eyes and prepares them a bit more tea, kissing Emre’s forehead when he ends up taking Olly’s bowl for himself.

He sneezes as he hands Olly his cuppa, eyes wide as they both giggle at him.

“Good thing we’ve a bit of a break then,” Olly teases. “Guess we’ll have to come take care of you a bit.”

Emre groans as if he’s in pain but Neil can see the smile he ducks his head to hide, knowing he’ll be right there the whole time Neil’s sick.

“My baby boys gonna look after me?” he teases right back.

“Older than you,” Emre grits out, tipping the bowl back and finishing the broth at the bottom.

“Always be my baby boy, though,” Neil reminds him, feeling brave enough to do so now that he’s the one sick.

As expected, Emre lets it go, though he does get a bit pink in the cheeks. Neil can see where he’s biting down on a smile, and Olly’s face is doing something complicated where he wants to grin but he’s too pleased by the shared pet name. He takes a sip of his own tea, watching as Emre stands to pour another bowl of soup for Olly, and he forgets for a moment the countdown clock until he has to leave them again.

Because he loves touring, he really does, and he’ll have his boys for a couple days before they’re apart again. It’s like Grace said: they’ve enough money to do stupid things like fly out for barely a day together. They’ll take advantage of what moments they have and spend their time apart doing the things they love.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Come talk to us at the [Clean Years Fic Exchange](http://cleanyearsexchange.tumblr.com/) and let us know your thoughts about reading a fic from/writing a fic for a challenge or exchange based on these two lovely bands.


End file.
